Display holder



A 3, J. c. FEENEY EI'AL DISPLAY HOLDER Filed Dec. 26, 1942 INVNTORS Ear 411 rrall 17mm Bmd Patented Aug. 13, 1946 DISPLAY HOLDER Joseph Carroll Feeney, Woodstock, and William Bradford Banks, Baltimore, Md., assignors to The Lord Baltimore Press, Baltimore, Md,., a corporation of Maryland Application December 26, 1942, Serial No. 470,276

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to display holders for articles and more particularly to an inexpensive display card for mounting and displaying articles.

It is customary and convenient to utilize display cards and various types have been provided for which patents have been granted. In some cases, the articles are secured to the cards by metal clips and in other cases parts are cut from or attached to the card for mounting purposes. In all; cases the articles should be attached with sufiicient security to avoid accidental separation from the cards during shipping and handling.

Some of the cards heretofore provided have been tooexpensive to be satisfactory. Cost is an important item since the articles mounted are usually inexpensive and sold in large quantities, so that a small saving in cost on each article represents a substantial aggregate saving in a years sales. Other cards present assembly and manufacturing difiiculties or fail to retain the articles during handling and shipping.

The present invention aims to overcome or minimize the above difliculties by reducing the cost of display cards and by providing a card on which the articles may be securely mounted without difiiculty. These aims are achieved by providing holding means formed from the card and integral with the card in a simple manufacturing operation.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple inexpensive display card on which articles may be readily and securely mounted by hand or by automatic machinery.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the cost of display cards.

Another object of the invention is to minimize the possibility of articles being disarranged on the cards or separated accidentally from them.-

,Another object of the invention is to provide a one-piece mounting card which eliminates clips, staples and other separate fasteners for holding an article in position thereon.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification,

- wherein Fig. l is a perspective view of a card as it leaves. the stamping or cutting machine and prior to the removal of the cut out portions;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a card with the cut out portions removed;

Fig. 3 is a perspective front view of the card with an article in place thereon;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line 3-4 of Fig. 3;-

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5--5 of Fig. 3; and I Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a card with a holding means differing slightly in form,

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing for mounting a lipstick container. In the instance illustrated, the container is cylindrical in form, with a closure at one end which is substantially the same size as the container and which forms, in effect, a continuation thereof. It will be understood that the container has been chosen for illustrative pur poses and that there is no intention'of limiting the invention toanyparticular shape, as the invention is applicable to articles of various shapes.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawing, there is illustrated a card I which may be similar to the cards customarily used for mounting articles and preferably made of cardboard, although other types of sheet material may be utilized where the stiffness or rigidity is sufficient for the purpose. Preferably the card is first subjected to the operation of a cutting die which severs portions 2 and 3 therefrom along the lines 4 and l. The cut away portions 2 and 3 are, in eiiect, continuations of each other separated by a loop 5, With the loop raised and the portions 2 and 3 removed, a substantially rectangular recess or aperture 1 results which is adapted to receive the lower side of the container ill (see Fig. 3)-. The upper end of the cut portion! is in the form of a semi-circle forming one side of the loop 5-. A second semi-circular out forms the upper side of the loop 5 and the lower end of the cut away portion 3. The lower ends of the loop are formed in part from the material adjacent the cut away portions 2 and 3 and are integral with the sidesof the recess 1 at substantially the middle thereof. If desired, transverse scores 5' maybe provided to facilitate the formation of the hinge connection between the card and the ends of the loop 5,. The upper part of the loop is formed from the portion of the material which would otherwise be the waste material of cut away portions 2 and 3.

The portions 2 and 3 can be removed from the card prior to mounting a container on the card. However, this would require a separate operation and in order to minimize the cost, it is preferred to leave these cut out portions in the card, held in position if desired by small tabs, and remove them at the time the containers are mounted. In mounting the containers, the loop 5 is pressed upwardly into a plane substantially perpendicular to the card and the end of the article is inserted under the loop along the recess 1. With a little practice, the articles may be assembled rapidly. At the time of assembly, the blanks formed by the cut out portions are pressed out and the container is inserted in place as shown in Fig. 3. It is to be noted that the recess 1 in the card is of less width than the diameter of the cylindrical container ID. The container therefore rest in the recess with its respective ends engaging the ends of the recess. The ends of the recess 1 may be shaped to conform to the shape of the ends of the article. The loop 5, extending over the container, holds it in position. While the material of the card is ordinarily sufficiently strong to prevent the container from being forced through the recess under normal conditions, the loop serves as an effective reinforcing means for increasing the effectiveness of the mounting. The lower ends of the loop, being integral with and attached to the sides of the recess T substantially at the middle of the length thereof, tend to hold these sides in their upper position and to prevent their sagging. This reinforcement i effective in retaining the article in position and in preventing distortion of the sides of the recess.

If desired, the articles may be assembled by inserting them through the recess 1 from the underside of the card. The size of the recess may be sufiiciently large to permit the article to pass through it and to become lodged in the loop without impairing the edges of the recess. After the article has passed through the recess, the edges of the recess project under the sides of the article and hold it securely in position. The edges of the recess tend to bend down slightly to provide a greater bearing surface on the under side of the article and to increase the rigidity of the support for it.

In commercial practice the cards are stamped or cut by a manufacturer into the form illustrated in Fig. 1 by suitable machinery. Operators, usually at the plant where the articles are manufactured or where the containers are filled, insert the containers in the recesses 2 under the loops 5. This may be done by raising the loop 5 and by inserting the container under the loop along the recess of and simultaneously forcing out the out portions 2 and 3. The container may also be inserted through the recess from the back of the card, in which case, the container itself may be made to raise the loop and force out the cut out portions 2 and 3. In either case, the operation is a simple one which may be readily performed by automatic machinery where the volume is large or by hand where the volume is small.

The modified construction illustrated in Fig. 6 differs from that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 in that the cut out portion 3 of Fig. 1 is permitted to remain a part of the upper part of the loop and provides a tab 8 thereon. In other words, this portion of the waste material, thrown away in the preferred embodiment, is utilized as a tab on the upper part of the loop in the modification. The tab 8 is illustrated in Fig. 6 bent into a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the upstanding loop 5 and substantially parallel to the plane of the card i. The tab is preferably scored to facilitate the bending operation. The tab provides a unique place for printing the price 9, a trade-mark, or other desired information and, by being bent, takes up less space when the merchandise is packed. It will be understood that the tab 8 may be left unscored and unbent to lie in the place of the loop, if that construction is preferred. Either the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 or the form illustrated in Fig. 6 may be utilized without material difference in cost or eifort.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a mounting card which is simple in construction and effective to mount small articles for display purposes. Suitable advertising matter or instructions to the user may be printed on the card. The operation of forming the mounting means may be performed by automatic stamping or cutting at a high rate of speed. The containers may be assembled with the cards by hand or by machinery at a low cost. The loop extending over the container and holding it in position serves also to reinforce and support the sides of the recess thereby to increase their effectiveness in holding the container in place. The use of attachments and clips are completely eliminated, thereby simplifying the construction and reducing the cost thereof. The display holders, though made of inexpensive material, are fully capable of withstanding the rough usage to which they may be subjected in shipping and handling.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Havin thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In an article of the class described, the combination of a sheet-like base having an elongated aperture therein, an article in said aperture, the length of said aperture being substantially equal to the length of the article and the width of the aperture being less than the maximum width of the article to support the article resting therein and a loop integral with said base at the sides of the aperture adapted to be bent outwardly in a plane substantially at right angles to the base and adapted to extend over the article in the aperture to hold it in position therein.

2. In an article of the class described, a card havin an elongated substantially rectangular opening therein, a loop struck from the card along a portion of the opening and having its ends integral therewith at opposite sides of said opening and substantially medially thereof, the mid portion of the loop being formed from a portion of the waste material struck out of the card in forming the opening, the maximum transverse dimension of the loop opening bein slightly greater than .the minimum transverse dimension of said rectangular opening.

JOSEPH CARROLL FEENEY. WILLIAM BRADFORD BANKS. 

